Formerly part of Nelson, Marlborough was proclaimed as a
separate province in August 1859 under the provisions of the
New Provinces Act of 1858. The manner of its establishment
was characteristic of the “separatist” forces at work during
the 1850s and 1860s within the original six provinces. With
the spread of settlement, especially pastoral settlement,
into outlying parts of the original provinces, complaints
were made that although the distant parts contributed much
revenue from land sales, they received little of the
provincial expenditure. Furthermore, the outlying pastoral
runholders were concerned at the growing influence of the
small farmer and urban radicalism in some of the provincial
governments. They sought to safeguard their occupation of
large holdings by controlling the land regulations in their
own districts. The best means of ensuring this was to create
new provinces, the governments of which they were likely to
control.

Co-creator

Murray McCaskill, M.A., PH.D., Reader in Geography, University of Canterbury

How to cite this page: 'MARLBOROUGH PROVINCE AND PROVINCIAL DISTRICT', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New ZealandURL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/marlborough-province-and-provincial-district (accessed 22 Mar 2019)